Philosophy

In the First Year, pupils study philosophy as part of the SHAPE carousel. They have a crash course in many of the most important areas of philosophy, including ethics, the philosophy of religion, eschatology (the theology of life after death), and political philosophy.

In the Fifth Form, we study AQA GCSE Religious Studies. This course has two focuses: half of the course deals with Christian and Muslim theology, while the other half tackles various philosophical and ethical debates across four themes (relationships and families; the value of life; the existence of God; the ethics of war).

In the Sixth Form, we study AQA A Level Philosophy. This course is a deep dive into the methods and key thinkers of modern philosophy, with a focus on epistemology (the philosophy of knowledge), ethics, philosophy of religion, and philosophy of mind. 

There are countless possible answers to this question, because to an extent the answer depends on the individual. For many, the ultimate reason for studying philosophy is that one feels compelled to explore and try to answer philosophical questions. What philosophy does for everyone is teach them to articulate themselves in a more confident and intellectual manner. Philosophy requires you to become confident in expressing yourself and participating in debates, even when the material is abstract or controversial. It also requires you to develop a disciplined approach to academic writing. These general skills equip pupils for a variety of different careers excellent: philosophy tends to rank at the top of all arts/humanities degrees for career average earnings!

A fortnightly philosophy society offers pupils the chance to present their own ideas and debate topics beyond the scope of the curriculum. The philosophy department also runs two trips. The first is a day trip to  Canterbury Cathedral to complement our study of Christian theology at GCSE. The department also runs the yearly trip to Krakow and Auschwitz which is also open to pupils who study history and politics. Lastly, many philosophy pupils also participate in the MUN activity which gives further opportunities to develop debating skills. 

Philosophy tackles a wide range of topics: ethics (why should I be a good person?), epistemology (do we really know anything?), philosophy of mind (are we just our brains?), philosophy of religion (can we prove or disprove the existence of God?), theology (is there life after death?), political philosophy (how should resources be distributed in a just society?), and more.